My heroine can kick your heroine's butt.

Remember how I was talking about finaling in two contests with my Blaze Wannabe?Well, the results came back, and they couldn’t have been more different.

The first-round judges of RWA’s Selling Synopsis contest placed my entry first (yay!) at 92% average score. The final editor? Hated it. Thought it was the worst piece of tripe. Gave it 1s and 2s (of 5, and, in one case, of 10).I won’t lie. That smarts. A lot. She said there was no emotional connection. She ranked it 8th out of 8 finalists, not surprisingly.

What does that tell you? her and I are never going to be a good match. When there is this much discrepancy in feeling the love, it’s not going to get better. I agree that this story needs work, but it’s not as awful as this editor felt. And that’s okay. I’ve noted her name down, and I won’t submit to her. Why waste my time and hers?

The final editor at the great Expectations contest sung quite a different song. While she wasn’t overly taken by the first chapters as they stood, she thought if I spiced things up a bit, she’d definitely want to see it again. She connected with the work. And you bet I’m taking her suggestions very seriously. I’ve noted her name down, too. on my “Submit to this person again” list.

The moral of the story? Don’t be discouraged if an agent or editor or reviewer or critique partner slams your work. Have a tough skin. not everyone is going to like you.Take the constructive criticisms and look at them. if you can’t the day you receive them, stow them away and look at them again later. Don’t take every piece of advice on board, but evaluate everything you receive.Try and keep track of people’s preferences. if you can, work with them. Don’t work against them, it’s not going to work.